Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-05T02:32:17.876Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Some Geological Implications of Average Quaternary Glacial Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Stephen C. Porter
Stephen C. Porter*
Affiliation:
Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Analyses of Quaternary landscape evolution tend to focus on events associated with culminations of glacial and interglacial ages, but for most of Quaternary time, environments were intermediate in character. Average Quaternary glacial conditions, based on assessment of the marine isotope record, approximated those near the stage 2/stage 1 transition and during substages 5b and 5d; isotope stages 3 and 4 and substages 5a-d lie within one standard deviation of the mean value. Under average glacial conditions, ice sheets lying over northern North America and Europe were much more contracted than their full-glacial counterparts, and the distribution of mountain glaciers reflected a snowline depression of some 500 m. Geomorphic processes operating under average Quaternary conditions contributed importantly to landscape evolution. Examples of landscapes that may represent such average conditions include cirques and fluvial deposits of the Pacific Northwest, the fjords and strandflat of western Norway, and atolls of the tropical oceans. By examining the geologic record from the perspective of average conditions, rather than those of climatic extremes, added insight can be gained regarding the evolution of Quaternary landscapes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , November 1989 , pp. 245 - 261
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aarseth, I. Mangerud, J., (1974). Younger Dryas end moraines between Hardangerfjorden and Sognefjorden, western Norway Boreas 3, 3–22 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersen, B.G., (1981). Late Weichselian ice sheets in Eurasia and Greenland Denton, G.H. Hughes, T.J. The Last Great Ice Sheets Wiley New York 1–65 Google Scholar
Armstrong, J.E., (1981). Post-Vashon Wisconsin Glaciation, Fraser Lowland, British Columbia Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 322 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baranowski, S., (1977). The Subpolar Glaciers of Spitsbergen Seen against the Climate of This Region Wydawnictwa Universytetu Wrochawskeiyo Wroclaw Results of Investigation of the Polish Scientific Spitsbergen Expeditions 3 Google Scholar
Bergersen, O.F., (1988). Was central Scandinavia deglaciated around 40,000 years before present? Terra Abstracts 1, 63–64 Google Scholar
Boulton, G.S., (1979). Glacial history of the Spitsbergen archipelago and the problem of a Barents Shelf ice sheet Boreas 8, 31–57 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLIMAP Project Members (1976). The surface of the ice-age earth Science 191, 1131–1137 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CLIMAP Project Members (1984). The last interglacial ocean Quaternary Research 21, 123–224 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crandell, D.R. Mullineaux, D.R. Waldron, H.H., (1965). Age and Origin of the Puget Sound Trough in Western Washington B132–B136 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 525-B Google Scholar
Curry, B.B., (1989). Absence of Altonian glaciation in Illinois Quaternary Research 31, 1–13 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daly, R.A., (1910). Pleistocene glaciation and the coral reef problem American Journal of Science 30, 297–308 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, A.G., (1980). Shore erosion by frost: An example from the Scottish lateglacial Lowe, J.J. Gray, J.M. Robinson, J.E. Studies in the Lateglacial of North-west Europe Pergamon Press Oxford 45–53 Google Scholar
Denton, G.H. Hughes, T.J., (1981). The Last Great Ice Sheets Wiley New York Google Scholar
Dredge, L.A. Thorleifson, L.H., (1987). The middle Wisconsinan history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Géographie Physique et Quaternaire 41, 215–235 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyke, A.S. Prest, V.K., (1987). Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Géographie Physique et Quaternaire 41, 237–263 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flint, R.F., (1971). Glacial and Quaternary Geology Wiley New York Google Scholar
Fulton, R.J., (1984). Quaternary glaciation, Canadian Cordillera Quarternary stratigraphy of Canada—a Canadian Contribution to IGCP Project 24 Fulton, R.J. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 84-10 40–47 Google Scholar
Grosswald, M.G., (1980). Late Weichselian ice sheet of northern Eurasia Quaternary Research 13, 1–32 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosswald, M.G., (1988). Antarctic-style ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere (toward the New Global glacial theory) Data of Glaciological Studies (Moscow) 63, 3–25 [in Russian] Google Scholar
Haase, P.C., (1987). Glacial Stratigraphy and Landscape Evolution of the North-Central Puget Lowland, Washington Unpublished M.S. thesis University of Washington Google Scholar
Heuberger, H., (1968). Die Alpengletscher im Spätund Postglazial Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart 19, 270–275 Google Scholar
Holtedahl, H., (1967). Notes on the formation of fjords and fjord valleys Geografiska Annaler 49, 188–203 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holtedahl, H., (1975). The geology of the Hardangerfjord, west Norway Norges Geol. Undersøkelse 323, 1–87 Google Scholar
Hughes, T.J. Denton, G.H. Andersen, B.G. Schilling, D.H. Fastook, J.L. Lingle, C.S., (1981). The last great ice sheets: A global view Denton, G.H. Hughes, T.J. The Last Great Ice Sheets Wiley New York 263–317 Google Scholar
Imbrie, J. Hays, J.D. Martinson, D.G. McIntyre, A. Mix, A.C. Morley, J.J. Pisias, N.G. Prell, W.L. Shackleton, N.J., (1984). The orbital theory of Pleistocene climate: Support from a revised chronology of the marine δ18O record Berger, A. Imbrie, J. Hays, J. Kukla, G. Saltzman, B. Milankovitch and Climate (Part 1) Reidel Dordrecht 269–305 Google Scholar
Klemsdal, T., (1982). Coastal classification and the coast of Norway Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 36, 129–152 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, E. Eide, F. Longva, O. Mangerud, J., (1984). Allerød-Younger Dryas climatic inferences from cirque glaciers and vegetational development in the Nordfjord area, western Norway Arctic and Alpine Research 16, 137–160 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, E. Holtedahl, H., (1985). The Norwegian strandflat: A reconsideration of its age and origin Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift 65, 247–254 Google Scholar
Mangerud, J., (1977). Late Weichselian marine sediments containing shells, foraminifera, and pollen, at Ågotnes, western Norway Norsk Geologisk Tiddskrift 57, 23–54 Google Scholar
Mangerud, J., (1980). Ice-front variations of different parts of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet, 13,000 – 10,000 years BP Lowe, J.J. Gray, J.M. Robinson, J.E. Studies in the Lateglacial of Northwest Europe Pergamon Press Oxford 23–30 Google Scholar
Mangerud, J. (in press). The Scandinavian Ice Sheet through the last interglacial/glacial cycle. Paleoklimatologie (Mainz) Google Scholar
Martinson, D.G. Pisias, N.G. Hays, J.D. Imbrie, J. Moore, T.C. Jr. Shackleton, N.J., (1987). Age dating and the orbital theory of the ice ages: Development of a high-resolution 0 to 300,000-yr chronostratigraphy Quaternary Research 27, 1–29 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, J.A. Dawson, A.G. Shakesby, R.A., (1986). Lake shoreline development, frost weathering and rock platform erosion in an alpine periglacial environment, Jotunheimen, southern Norway Boreas 15, 33–50 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meierding, T.C., (1982). Late Pleistocene glacial equilibrium-line altitudes in the Colorado Front Range: A comparison of methods Quaternary Research 18, 289–310 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mix, A.C. Ruddiman, W.R., (1984). Oxygenisotope analyses and Pleistocene ice volumes Quaternary Research 21, 1–20 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nansen, F., (1922). The Strandflat and Isostasy Jacob Dybwad Krystiana Google Scholar
Østrem, G. Liestol, O. Glasiologiske undersøkelser i Norge 1963 Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 18, 1961–1962 281–340 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penck, A. Brückner, E., (1909). Die Alpen im Eiszeitalter Tauchnitz Leipzig Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., (1964). Composite Pleistocene snowline of Olympic Mountains and Cascade Range, Washington Geological Society of America Bulletin 75, 477–482 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, S.C., (1975). Equilibrium-line altitudes of late Quaternary glaciers in the Southern Alps, New Zealand Quaternary Research 5, 27–47 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, S.C., (1983). Late Quaternary environments of the United States Vol. 1, Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis The Late Pleistocene Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., (1986). Montane glaciers during and since the last glaciation Program and Abstracts of the 9th Biennial Meeting, American Quaternary Association Champaign-Urbana, IL 51–52 Google Scholar
Porter, S.C. Pierce, K.L. Hamilton, T.D., (1983). Late Pleistocene mountain glaciation in western United States Porter, S.C. Late Quaternary Environments of the United States Vol. 1, Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis 71–111 The Late Pleistocene Google Scholar
Shackleton, N.J., (1987). Oxygen isotopes, ice volume and sea level Quaternary Science Reviews 6, 183–190 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shackleton, N.J. Pisias, (1985). Atmospheric carbon, orbital forcing and climate The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric CO2: Natural Variations Archean to Present Geophysical Monographs 32, 303–317 Google Scholar
Šibrava, V. Bowen, D.Q. Richmond, G.M., (1986). Quaternary glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere Quaternary Science Reviews 5, 1–511 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szabo, B.J. Tracey, J.I. Jr. Goter, E.R., (1985). Ages of subsurface stratigraphic intervals in the Quaternary of Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands Quarternary Research 23, 54–61 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorp, P.W., (1987). Late Devensian ice sheet in the western Grampians, Scotland Journal of Quaternary Science 2, 103–112 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velichko, A.A., (1983). Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis Google Scholar
Vincent, J.-S. Prest, V.K., (1987). The Early Wisconsinan history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Géographie Physique et Quaternaire 41, 199–213 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiens, H.J., (1962). Atoll Environment and Ecology Yale Univ. Press New Haven, CT Google Scholar
Williams, D.F. Thunell, R.C. Tappa, E. Rio, D. Raffi, I., (1988). Chronology of the Pleistocene oxygen isotope record: 0–1.88 m.y. B.P. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 64, 221–240 CrossRefGoogle Scholar